Change of Heart
by ynnej2198
Summary: Joey told Pacey she didn't feel it. What happens when she realizes she made a mistake? Will Pacey take her back? Set after S6 "Love Bites" episode. *Completed*
1. Chapter 1

PART 1

After telling Pacey that Eddie came back, he walked back into the school, but disappeared. When Joey couldn't find him, she sat down on the bleachers and watched as Harley and Patrick danced to a slow song. While she was happy they'd made up, she was sad over her own romantic conundrum. She'd chosen Eddie and was at peace about that, but she was concerned over what this would do to the friendship she and Pacey had worked so hard to rebuild.

Joey momentarily looked to the floor when she saw a shadow. When she looked up, Pacey was standing there with his hand outstretched. "I believe I owe you a dance, Ms. Potter." Relieved that he came back, Joey grabbed his hand and walked to the dance floor. Since the song was half over, they only danced a short time. It was a dance full of emotions, which primarily consisted of sorrow, regret, and the mourning of what might have been. When the song ended, Pacey stepped away from Joey, gently squeezed her hands, released her, and then walked away.

Joey bowed her head. He said he wouldn't walk out the door if he didn't like her choice, but that's exactly what he was doing.

When he got to the door of the gym, he turned around. "You coming, Potter?"

She turned toward him, shocked. "What?"

"You need a ride home, right?" he asked.

Broken out of her trance, she answered, "Ah, yeah. Just let me get my coat."

As she walked toward him, he said, "I'll go get the car. Meet you out front."

Joey nodded. She said goodbye to Harley, who was actually being picked up by Hetson, and then collected her coat from the coat room. By the time she got out front, Pacey was waiting at the curb.

She opened the door and slid into the BMW. "Thanks for driving me home."

"I wasn't gonna leave you to find your own way. I brought you, so I'll drop you off."

After that, Pacey turned the radio onto a business news station and was dead silent as he at least appeared to listen intently to the host, who droned on and on about stuff Joey didn't really understand or have an interest in.

When they reached her dorm at Worthington, Pacey pulled up to the curb by the main door. "If it's okay with you, I'll just drop you off here."

"Yeah. I can get inside on my own. Thanks, Pace." She put her hand on the door handle to open it but then turned back. "I'm sorry."

He didn't look at her. He whispered, "Me too." When she didn't move to get out, he added, "I actually have to go to the office early tomorrow morning to do some paperwork, so…"

 _Get out_ was the rest of the sentence and Joey got the message loud and clear. She opened the door and stepped outside. Before closing it, she bent down and said, "I'll see ya, Pace."

He looked over and gave her a weak, sad smile. "Bye, Joey."

The moment she closed the door, he pulled away from the curb.

She stood there a minute feeling a profound sense of loss. Shaking it off, Joey sighed and entered the building. When she got into the lobby, she pulled her cell phone out of her small purse and dialed the number for a local cab company.

Now that she'd said goodbye to her past with Pacey, there was only one thing to do - focus on her future with Eddie.

 _Later…_

Joey took a cab to Eddie's parent's place, which was where she figured he'd be staying for the summer.

When she got there, she paused a moment before knocking on the door. When Eddie answered, he seemed confused and surprised to see her.

"I guess you're wondering what I'm doing here?" she said uneasily.

When Eddie looked at her hopefully, Joey kissed him.

Afterwards, Eddie pulled her into a tight hug. As she rested her chin on his shoulder, she couldn't help but frown as Pacey and his sad smile crossed her mind.

 **~zzzzzzz~**

Pacey lied to Joey. Well sort of. He was going into work tomorrow, but not until the afternoon. Given tonight's events, all he'd be doing in the morning is nursing the giant hangover he was bound to have given the nearly entire bottle of scotch he drank when he got home from the dance.

When he got in the door, he ripped the red rose boutonniere from his suit jacket and threw it forcefully in the trash. Then, he shucked everything but his boxers and wifebeater. Part of him wanted to burn his clothes just so they wouldn't remind him of yet another disastrous dance with Joey, but the rational part of him knew that only a moron would do that to a $600 suit. So, he settled for letting it lay on a pile on the floor while he attempted to drown his sorrows in a bottle of liquor. Thank God Emma was gone and Jack was with Jen at some Boston Bay event because Pacey knew that at some point drowning said sorrows would include crying like a baby and he really didn't want an audience for that.

Despite Joey breaking his heart tonight, he resolved to prove he'd changed by going back inside to dance with her and drive her home. It was definitely a bizarre form of torture, but he needed to keep his promise not to run away if he didn't like her choice. He didn't. He hated it. But he knew he'd have to accept it. Possibility was a mean trick after all. Pacey laughed sardonically at that as he took another swig of his scotch right from the bottle.

Even when he was at his best, he still wasn't good enough for Joey Potter because he could never overcome their history. Go figure.

He had just pushed himself off the couch after major wallowing so he could attempt to climb the spiral staircase to his room when he heard a knock on the door. The only person who would be knocking at - he looked down at his watch to check the time - one in the morning would be Jack. Maybe he decided to come home after all but forgot his keys again. Scotch still in hand, Pacey walked slowly to the door and unlocked it. "It's open," he shouted as he turned around to head toward the staircase. "One of these days, Jackers, I won't let you in on purpose just to teach you a lesson about forgetting your key."

"It's not Jack."

Pacey froze. He was afraid to turn around. Was he hallucinating Joey's voice?

"Pace…"

At hearing her call him that, the anger Pacey had buried all night surged to the surface. "Don't call me that," he ground out as he whipped around to face her.

"What?" she asked confusedly.

"Pace. If you want to call Eddie 'Ed' then go for it, but stop calling me Pace."

"Why? I've always called you that."

"No. You started calling me that when we started dating. And we aren't dating. So, don't call me that anymore, _Joey._ " Normally he would call her Jo. But not anymore. Not now.

"What does it matter?" Hurt was evident in her voice.

Some of Pacey's anger deflated at the tone of her voice, so he clarified more calmly, "Things have been - confusing - lately between us. This will help create clearer boundaries."

"That's ridiculous," she scoffed. "What we call each other won't change anything between us."

Resigned, he admitted, "No, it won't." He took a breath, "But I'm asking you to respect my wishes the way I respected yours earlier." He paused a moment to switch the scotch bottle to his other hand so he could lean on the couch with the newly free one. "So, that said… You need to leave. I'd take you home, but," he held up the scotch, "I'm not really in the shape to drive right now. So, you can use that trusty cell phone to call a cab or you can crash on the couch till morning and then call. It's up to you which one you do. I'd drop you tomorrow, but Worthington is in the opposite direction of the firm and I won't have time."

With that, he turned around and went up the stairs, leaving the scotch by the top step. He stopped in the bathroom to take a piss and then padded to his bedroom, where he closed the door and fell onto his bed.

It was rude to walk out on Joey like that, but he didn't have the energy to be polite after what went down, so, instead of feeling guilty, he just closed his eyes and drifted off.

 **~zzzzzzz~**

Eight AM came early when you were up past one, but Pacey forced himself to open his eyes despite his exhaustion and pounding head. He had to be at work in an hour so he could finish some paperwork before a conference call at lunch. Work was pretty much all he had left, so he was determined to focus on it. He'd go in tomorrow, too, just to keep busy and not think about Prom Redux and Joey.

As he tried to bring his hands to his face to wipe the sleep from his eyes, he realized one of his hands wouldn't move. He murmured, "What the fuck?" and then lifted his head from the pillow to try and figure out why he couldn't move it. Drunkenness didn't cause paralysis, at least as far as he knew.

When he looked over, he saw his arm was pinned down by a body. Not just any body. Joey's body.

He brought his free hand to the bridge of his nose and pinched it as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember last night through the hangover fog. As far as he knew nothing happened between them. He was way too drunk by the time she got there to do anything even if he had wanted to.

He roughly pulled his arm out from under her body, which caused her to stir. He then used it to shake her lightly. "Joey, wake up."

When she woke up, she saw him and smiled, but her smile vanished quickly when he asked, "What the hell are you doing in my bed?"

"Sleeping," she answered matter-of-factly.

"But why here - _in my bed_?"

"Because I felt like it," she answered as she scooched closer to him and laid a hand on his torso.

In response, he lifted her arm off him and shifted his body so that he was against the edge of the bed, putting much needed distance between them. "I guess the bigger question is why are you here in my bed and not Eddie's? I mean, that's where you went after I dropped you off at your dorm, right?"

"I did."

Pacey got out of bed and walked over to stand by his desk. "So, I repeat, why are you here and not there?"

Joey shifted in the bed to the spot he vacated and then got up herself. He sucked in a breath when he saw she was clad only in one of his Bruins t-shirts and her panties. She walked toward him. "It didn't work out."

He couldn't help but laugh as he moved from the desk toward the doorway to create more distance. "Wow. That's gotta be a record." Once he regained his composure he added, "So, I take it I'm this year's Dawson?"

She stopped. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You dumped me and ran to him. For whatever reason it didn't work out - and I don't want to know why nor do I care - so now you're back here clinging to what you know. I'm better than nothing, right?" He held his arms out wide. "So, am I gonna get a kiss, too?"

She reeled back as if slapped. "Jackass," she hissed.

He dropped his arms and chuckled. "But you already knew that about me, sweetheart. Yet here you are anyway."

He saw her clench her fists and knew it was time to ease off. "As fun as this has been first thing in the morning with a massive hangover, I'm gonna leave you to get dressed and call that cab."

With that, he opened the door and walked out of his room to the bathroom. He needed to shower before work and, thanks to Joey, he was running late. Hopefully, she'd be gone by the time he was done. He didn't have the energy to spar with her anymore this morning considering he needed his brain power for the mountain for paperwork waiting in his office.

He finished his shower, wrapped a towel around his waist, brushed his teeth, took an aspirin for his pounding head, and then went back to his room, but he stopped short in the doorway when he saw her sitting at the foot of his bed cross-legged. Her arms were crossed over her chest defiantly. "Feeling better?" she asked.

She looked sexy as hell, but he did his best to distract himself by heading over to his dresser to pull out boxers and a wifebeater. "Much. Thanks."

When she made no effort to move, he raised an eyebrow. "I have to get ready for work, here, so…"

She uncrossed her arms and placed her palms on the bed. "Don't let me stop you."

"Suit yourself," he replied as he pulled on the wifebeater and then dropped the towel to step into his boxers. When he was done, he grabbed a pair of slacks, a belt, and a dress shirt from his closet. He stepped into the pants, donned the shirt, and then threaded the belt around his waist. The whole time, Joey simply sat there and watched.

As he went to close the buttons on the shirt, Joey got up and padded over to him. She shooed his hands out of the way and began buttoning the buttons herself - one slow, agonizing button at a time. Despite the layers of clothing between her fingers and his body, he still felt that traitorous surge of electricity when she touched him. He willed himself not to react and then hastily stepped back when she was done. As he tucked the shirt into his waistband he asked, "Why are you here, Joey?"

"For you," she answered simply.

He paused a moment from dressing to stare at her in shock, but shook it off and went to his closet for a tie. Looping it around his neck, he said, "Last night you 'didn't feel it' and now you want me back? I'm getting whiplash here, Jo."

When he turned back to face her, she was smiling brightly. "What?" he asked.

"You called me Jo."

Shit. "It was a slip."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, _Pace_."

He grabbed socks and a pair dress shoes and sat on the bed to put them on. "So, why are you here?"

"When I went to Eddie's, everything was great at first. We kissed and then held each other…"

Dressed, Pacey bolted upright and headed out the door. "I don't want to hear this."

Joey followed. "Pacey, wait!" she pleaded.

He was downstairs in the kitchen before she caught up to him. He filled his travel coffee cup and then headed over to the living room to put his paperwork back in his briefcase.

As he was doing that, Joey reached him. She grabbed his wrist - tight - to still his movements. "I have to tell you the story so you'll understand. Can you just stop and listen, please?"

He shook off her grip and sat onto the couch. "Fine."

"We went inside to his apartment in the basement and tried to pick up where we left off."

"So, he wanted to sleep with you?"

She nodded. "But I couldn't do it."

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"I'm flattered, Potter. But so what? A lot of people think of someone else during sex. As long as you don't shout the wrong name, it doesn't really matter."

"It matters to me. I knew that if I was thinking of you, it wasn't fair to Eddie to continue. So, I stopped it. And let's just say he didn't take it well."

That got Pacey's attention. "Did he try to hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No. Nothing like that. We just ended up having it out. Things were said that we can't get past."

"Like what?" Pacey asked. Curiosity killed the cat, after all.

"Eddie called me a scared, indecisive little girl."

Pacey snorted at Joe Dirt's astuteness. "Well, he was right."

Joey side-eyed him at that, but continued. "He said that after I refused to run away to Europe with him this summer to work on our relationship. He didn't take it well when I told him that there is only one person who would ever inspire me to chuck my entire life and run away for a summer - and that he wasn't that person and never would be."

"Ouch." Pacey winced in sympathy for the schmuck.

"And when he asked how I knew that, having never done it before, I told him that I did know because I had done it before - with you."

When she went silent, he prodded. "And…"

She took a deep breath. "And in that moment I knew that I'd made a huge mistake. That everything you said at the dance was true. So, I called a cab and had it bring me here."

"And Eddie just let you go?"

"He wasn't going to, but once he found out the person I'd moved on with while he was gone was you, he gave up."

"Ah. Ok."

Joey sat next to him on the couch, so close that their knees were touching. "So, to answer your question, I'm here to ask for another chance for us. Is that possible?"

Pacey leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. After sighing, he sat back up and turned toward her. "Honestly, Jo, I don't know. Aside from the fact that you _really_ hurt me last night, I'm not sure if I can trust you."

"But…"

He held up a hand. "Just let me talk, okay?" When she nodded, he continued. "I know the dance last night brought back everything that happened at prom. It scared you. You were so afraid of history repeating itself that Eddie was the perfect escape hatch for not having to face our issues." Pacey took a breath and continued. "But here's the thing, Joey, last night showed me that I'm not sure if I can give you clean slate anymore than you can give me one."

"So where does that leave us?"

"Unless we can overcome our history, we don't stand a chance for a future. So, I don't know." He looked at his watch. "And, unfortunately, I have a conference call in an hour, so I really have to go to work."

"On a Saturday?"

He stood up. "I work close to 60 hours a week, Joey, so weekends are pretty irrelevant to me." He finished putting his papers in his briefcase. "Why don't you go get dressed and I'll drop you at your dorm. We can pick up this discussion later, okay?"

"Okay."


	2. Chapter 2

PART 2

As Joey unlocked the door to her dorm room, she pondered her predicament with Pacey. She knew she'd hurt him last night by going back to Eddie, but she didn't expect to have this much of a fight on her hands to convince him she had made a mistake and wanted another chance. The ride from his place to her dorm had been less awkward than the one last night from the dance, but there were still uncomfortable silences and hesitancy. But, when she asked if she could call him later, Pacey didn't say no, so she was taking that as a positive.

Joey opened the door and stepped in the room without looking up, so she was shocked by a very loud and very perky, "Bunny!"

"Audrey?! You're back." Joey swallowed. This was one complication in her potential reunion with Pacey that she had buried in the back of her mind.

"Yep! Got back early this morning." Then she eyed Joey curiously. "And where have _you_ been, Ms. Potter?"

This was, in a way, a moment of truth. She could lie about where she was in an effort to save Audrey's feelings, but she'd essentially be repeating history if she did that. If she wanted a future with Pacey - or even the chance for one - she needed to be honest. Joey unbuttoned her coat and shrugged it off slowly, which revealed her dress.

"Is that last night's dress?" Audrey asked coyly.

"Yeah," she admitted as she hung up the coat and then turned back to face her friend.

Audrey plopped down on her bed and tucked her hand beneath her chin. Expectantly she said, "So spill. Who's the lucky guy? And was he any good?"

Joey took a deep breath. "I was at Pacey's."

At first Audrey's eyes narrowed, but then she shook her head and chuckled. "There you go getting my hopes for nothing." When Audrey went to get up and go back to unpacking, she was stilled by Joey's voice.

"We're trying again, Audrey." At least Joey hoped so.

"What?"

"I'm still in love with Pacey. And I know deep down that he still loves me. We're trying again."

Audrey jumped up and began pacing. "I _knew_ it. You both thought I was crazy. That I was imagining you were still hung up on each other. But I wasn't, was I?"

"No."

"How long has this been going on?"

"About a month."

"And when were you two planning on letting me and Dawson in on this new development?"

"Honestly, Audrey, I can't tell you. Right now I'm not even sure if there is anything worth telling."

"Trouble in paradise already?" she asked snarkily.

Joey, out of energy and bravado, sank to her bed. "I screwed up and I'm not sure if he'll get past it."

Audrey sighed and sat down next to her. "What happened?"

"Eddie came back."

"And you dumped Pacey for him only to realize you made a mistake, right? But Pacey hasn't been as forgiving as you thought he would be?"

Joey let the tears she'd been holding back begin to fall.

"I can't lie to you and say I'm not upset over being kept in the dark about your little reconciliation. But, that said, I only want you both to be happy. I realized in rehab that Pacey and I were never meant to last with or without your involvement. So, my advice to you is to fight for him."

"That's what I've been doing all morning," Joey admitted between sniffles.

"One morning isn't going to fix this. He needs to know you'll be there for the long haul. That when shit hits the fan, you won't push him away. You're running a marathon, Bunny, not a sprint."

When Joey looked at her confusedly through tear-blurred eyes, all Audrey said was "Think about it."

 **~zzzzzzz~**

Since Pacey didn't get to work until nearly eleven thanks to his conversation and detour with Joey, he ended up staying until after eight. He unlocked the apartment door with one hand while he held his briefcase and Chinese takeout in the other. "Jackers!" he shouted, "I've got Chinese."

"Jack isn't here. He went out with David. He said not to wait up."

Pacey froze at the sound of her voice. "Joey, what are you doing here?"

She came over to him and grabbed the takeout bag from his hand and then went over to the kitchen island to unpack it. "I came over earlier and Jack said I could wait."

"Why?"

"So we could finish our discussion."

"How long have you been here?"

"About three hours." When he frowned, she added, "But it's okay. I got a lot of studying done for my finals, so the peace and quiet worked out. Especially now that Audrey's back."

"Audrey's back?" He asked as he moved to the living room to put down his briefcase on the coffee table and shuck his suit jacket.

"She knows."

He froze mid-sleeve roll. "Knows what?"

"About us. About the past month. And that I'm hoping for a future."

He finished rolling up his sleeves and loosened his tie. "And how did she take it?" he asked warily.

Joey shrugged. "Better than Dawson."

"You told Dawson?" He couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

"Yeah." Joey didn't elaborate. All she did was scoop out the food for each of them onto paper plates and brought them over to the coffee table.

"And…" he prompted.

"What do you want to drink?" she asked lightly as she headed back to the fridge.

"There should be some sodas in the fridge. I'll take one of those."

"Still hungover?"

"Yeah, a little."

She brought the sodas back and sat next to him on the couch. Pacey waited impatiently for her to continue with the Dawson explanation, but she didn't.

"Jo, what did you say to Dawson?"

She looked over and smiled triumphantly. Shit. He did it again.

"I took the train to Capeside this afternoon and we went for a late lunch. I told him I'm still in love with you and want you back."

"What did he say?"

"That I'm setting myself up to be hurt again. That it will be a colossal mistake. And that he won't be there to pick up the pieces this time."

At that, Pacey got angry. He said nothing to Dawson over sleeping with Joey while he had a girlfriend. "Where the fuck does he get off?! You have barely spoken in months because of what he pulled on your birthday. But yet he feels like he has the right to dictate what we _might_ do?"

As Pacey's anger rose, Joey's smile widened. "What?!"

"You said 'we'." She paused when he gave her a look, but then continued. "And I said the exact same thing to him."

"Good for you."

She stood up and walked over to where he was standing. "So, now that it's just you and me, the question is whether we can work it out."

"I haven't made any decisions yet, Joey. I need some time."

"I can wait. In the meantime, there's Chinese to be eaten."

 **~zzzzzzz~**

Joey felt much lighter after revealing her intentions regarding Pacey to Audrey and Dawson.

While Joey was riding the honesty train with Pacey and concerning Pacey, she had purposely left out that they had actually been trying again when she talked to Dawson. Given his reaction to the idea of them as an item again, which she thinks stemmed more from him wanting and not getting another chance after their one night stand, she didn't want to deal with the meltdown that was bound to ensue over the actuality of it. Not that there was much of an actuality at this point. She was here with Pacey, but that was it. He was definitely keeping his distance both physically and emotionally.

She'd gotten him to agree to let her stay overnight, but that was it. He stayed as far away from her on the bed as possible. But, as far as Joey was concerned, proximity was a good thing. She had packed a bag but purposely 'forgot' pajamas, so she had to wear her panties and his t-shirt. He had always liked everything she wore, but nothing had turned him on like seeing her in his clothes. She was capitalizing on that fact.

After they ate, he worked on paperwork while she studied for her lit exam. She did occasionally glance up at him as he concentrated on his work. It was only then that Joey realized just how much of Pacey's life she hadn't been privy to lately. Seeing him so dedicated and determined was amazing, but it also saddened her because she could tell his heart wasn't into it the way it was into cooking and sailing. Would the respect he craved come at the price of his soul?

Pacey told Joey he was going into work again around ten for a half day, so she decided to cook him breakfast. She got up earlier than him and snuck downstairs only to come face-to-face with Jack and Jen munching on pastries at the island.

Feeling self-conscious at being caught roaming the apartment in only a t-shirt and her panties, she gave a shy, "Hey, guys," as a greeting.

"Joey? What are you doing here?" Jen asked curiously.

"Did Pacey crash at the office again?" an unsurprised Jack interjected between bites. He looked at Jen. "She came over yesterday afternoon, but Pacey was still at the office."

"Ahh," Jen nodded in understanding. Joey assumed she assumed Joey crashed in his room - alone.

"Does he often crash there?" Joey couldn't help but inquire.

"Yeah. Between his crazy-long hours and all his dinner meetings, I barely see him."

"Does he like it?"

Jack just shrugged and Jen grimaced.

"I take that as a no."

"I think he tolerates it because it's part of the job. He and Audrey used to fight about it all the time." Jack volunteered. "Even Emma gave him a hard time over it."

"Oh," Joey said as she poured herself some coffee. "I didn't know."

"You were busy with Eddie." This from Jen. "It's understandable."

Before anyone could say anything else, Pacey came down the spiral staircase. "Hey, kiddies. How was your double-date?"

At this new development, Jen and Jack gasped and stared at Joey in amazement and confusion.

"Good," Jack eeked out. Pacey replied with a "That's nice," as he finished packing his briefcase.

"What, no jacket today, Pace?" Joey joked as he came to the island and grabbed a muffin.

He tweaked her nose. "It's Sunday, Potter. I get to dress down."

"Lucky you," she said sarcastically as she poured him some coffee into his travel mug. She tried not to jump from the current she felt when their hands brushed as he grabbed it from her. "What time will you be home?"

"I have a conference call and then a meeting with Rinaldi about the new trainees coming in next week plus commissions to approve and client accounts to review, so probably not until three or four."

"That's a half-day?"

He laughed half-heartedly. "Considering I'm working six to six tomorrow, yeah." Then he patted her upper arm affectionately. "I'll see ya, Jo." He turned to Jack and Jen to say his goodbyes and left.

When the door closed behind him, Joey sighed sadly. "He's miserable. I wish I'd seen it sooner."

"How do you know?" Jen asked. "He seems fine."

"Because I know him better than anyone."

"He won't quit." Jack stated. "We've all tried, but he doesn't listen. He's determined to stick it out."

Joey took a sip of her coffee. "Maybe he just hasn't had the right incentive to quit."

"And what kind of incentive do you plan to offer him, Joey?" Jen inquired with her 'I'll get to the bottom of this' face.

"Whatever it takes."

"What's going on, Joey?" Jack asked.

"We're trying again."

At that Jen and Jack both jumped up and ran around the island to hug her. When they released her, they began pounding her with questions until they realized her excitement didn't match theirs.

"What happened?" Jen asked.

"I'll save you the story, but suffice it to say that I screwed up and pushed him away on Friday night. He hasn't been as quick to forgive me as I hoped. So I'm giving him some time to come back around."

"I saw Eddie's car outside the bar on Thursday night after Pacey came in. Would that have anything to do with Pacey's reluctance to forgive and forget?" Jack asked protectively.

"Yeah."

"Oh, Joey," Jen leaned in to hug her again, but Joey pulled back.

"No, it's okay. I'm fighting for him. And I can wait. Even if it kills me."

Jen winked at that. "He's been hands-off, huh?"

"What you saw down here has been the extent of things."

"Don't worry, you'll break him. He never had the willpower to resist you," Jack offered reassuringly.

"I hope you're right."


	3. Chapter 3

PART 3

"It's been nearly a week, Jen, and nothing," Joey whined as she pushed her salad around her plate.

Jen took a sip of her water. "Did you do everything I suggested?"

"Short of literally throwing myself at him, yeah."

"Then he must have taken the Eddie thing harder than I thought. But you've slept at his place every night, right?"

"Yeah, Jack gave me Emma's old key so I can come and go. Unfortunately, Pacey's been working so much that he is barely ever there. I literally only see him to eat dinner, do paperwork and study together, and then go to sleep. He's out the door in the morning long before I have to get up for class." Joey sighed and then added. "Mix in my evening schedule here and it makes it worse."

"What are you gonna do?"

"He's good at his job, Jen. I've seen him in action and he's a natural, but it is killing him. As well as our chances of having any kind of meaningful interaction. I'm not sure what to do. And with that flu thingie approval coming up soon, he's working even crazier hours. He's on the phone even when he is home. It's just not healthy."

As Jen frowned and mulled over what Joey said, Joey saw Pacey enter the bar with Jack right behind him. As Jack waved excitedly and started making his way over, Pacey frowned at whatever the person on the line said. Joey got up and approached him.

"I appreciate the call, Sadia. I'm just not sure what to do with that. Especially now." Pause. "Yeah, I know." Then. "Ok. Thanks. Bye." When he cut the call, he gave Joey a weak smile. "Sorry about that."

"What did _The Reporter_ want? A booty call?" Joey couldn't help the jealous tone in her voice.

He smirked. "I wouldn't doubt it." When Joey smacked him in the arm, he added, "But this was about business, namely her as-yet-to-be-verified suspicions that I'm about to be a scapegoat."

"What?!"

"Sadia thinks the Stepotech deal is too good to be true and that I'm being set up to take the fall when the flu thingie isn't approved next week."

Joey's jealousy was replaced with concern. "Do you think she is right?"

"I don't know what to believe. I'd like to think I've earned my place, but after a few meetings we have had this week, I'm concerned."

"I don't like her," Joey admitted.

"Naw, really? I couldn't tell," he joked.

"But, that said, I think she could be right. What are your instincts telling you?"

"To get out," he said with no hesitation.

"Of the stock or the whole thing?"

"Both."

"Then do it, Pace." She gave him a brief reassuring hug and then led him over to their friends.

 **~zzzzzzz~**

"Hey, Gail, it's Pacey. Can I speak to Dawson?"

"What's up Pacey?" He heard Dawson say on the other end of the phone line a few moments later.

"I wanted to let you know that I just quit the firm. I've pulled my personal investments out of Stepotech and need to know what you want to do about the money we agreed to invest there for you?"

"Why did you quit?"

"It's a long story. One I don't have time to go into. I have several other clients to call today."

"What are my options?"

"You can do nothing and your investment account will be transferred to one of the other guys here to manage. You can pull it out and close it. Or, you can request the money be funneled elsewhere. It's your call."

Pacey wanted to encourage him to sell, but it was no longer his business. Dawson didn't truly trust his instincts anymore. Not since his instincts led him into falling for Joey back in high school.

"Don't do anything, Pace. Have the new guy call me next week so we can discuss it."

"Ok. Will do. I'll note your account. Adam will be in touch next week."

"So, how's Joey?"

Pacey rolled his eyes. "Fine. I actually don't see her much. Our schedules are pretty opposite."

"But that's all about to change now, right, since you quit and she's going on summer break?"

"Dawson, for the record, Joey and I aren't officially together. We're just exploring the possibility. If you want to go after her, go ahead. I won't stop you."

"So, you aren't together? As in a couple?"

"No. Not currently."

"Good to know."

"Always a pleasure, D-Man. Give my regards to your mom and Lily."

After Pacey hung up, he rubbed his temples. Leave it to Dawson to turn a headache (thanks to his less than pleasant meeting with Rich) into a migraine over residual high school bullshit.

 **~zzzzzzz~**

When Pacey got home, he had to put his box of office stuff down so he could unlock the door. When he went to talk to Rich, it was to give a two week notice, but Rich told him it's a waste of everyone's time to delay the inevitable so he should just leave today. Pacey wasn't actually that upset over it. He tied up the loose ends on his own account so he could move it to another brokerage firm, notified his clients and got their wishes for future management, and packed his stuff. With the money he made off his salary, commissions, and investment gains, he would be fine until he found something else. Plus, he was still due a last pay and commission check next week. Both of which, thankfully, would be direct deposited.

Instead of picking up his box, he kicked it inside and then closed the door behind him. When he looked up, he saw a very angry Joey Potter staring him down.

She marched up to him, sidestepped the box, and poked him in the chest. "What the hell did you say to Dawson today?!"

"I asked him about what he wanted to do with his money."

"And?"

"Told him that we aren't a couple so if he wants to pursue a relationship with you to have at it."

"What on earth possessed you to say that to him?"

"He was fishing for information and I've outgrown his residual high school soulmate interloper shit."

He tried to get around her, but she was blocking his path. "He called me, you know?"

"No, I didn't."

"He asked me to come to Capeside this weekend to talk."

Pacey shook his head. Dawson was so predictable. "Really?"

"Yeah. And then he told me what you said about us."

"Which is the truth." He shrugged and then added. "We aren't a couple."

She pushed him against the door, hard. "We would be if you would get your head out of your ass. We've pretty much been living together for weeks. I told you how I feel. What I want. And I know you want it too. You're just scared. Not of loving me, but of letting yourself believe in it."

"I'm not scared."

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Then prove it."

"How?"

She leaned in close to him, her lips mere centimeters from his. "Kiss me."

 **~zzzzzzz~**

When Pacey hesitated to kiss her, Joey thought maybe she'd taken the wrong approach to get him to finally make a physical move. But then the uncertainty in his eyes was replaced by desire and she knew she'd won. When his lips finally came down onto hers, she moaned in satisfaction. She'd waited forever for this moment and she wasn't going to waste it. The kiss wasn't gentle, romantic or tentative. It was possessive, rough, and all-consuming. One of his hands snaked into the hair at the nape of her neck as he plundered her mouth while the other hand cupped her ass and held her flush against his erection. She used her own hands to yank his dress shirt from his slacks and then slid them underneath his wifebeater to explore his torso. She'd wanted to do this for so long, but he never let her close enough for long enough to do it. When her fingers reached his nipple and grazed it, she felt him shudder involuntarily with desire.

In that moment, he pulled away from her mouth to drop kisses along her jawline and neck. The hand that had been on her ass moved upward to skim the side of her breast. "Oh, God, Pacey…" she murmured. She wanted this, him, so badly. She couldn't believe he'd finally given into his desire.

Desperate to feel more of him, Joey grasped his belt buckle and began unfastening it. Just as she was about to unzip his fly, she heard keys jingling in the door. Shit. Jack, David, Jen, C.J. and even Audrey were bringing back dinner to celebrate Pacey finally quitting that hellish job.

Reluctantly she tried to pull away. "Pace…"

"Mmm…" he whispered as he nibbled her earlobe in the way he knew drove her crazy.

"We have to stop," she breathed out, barely, as she separated from him.

"Why?" he asked confusedly, panting for breath.

She nodded toward the door. "Company."

He released her and doubled over as if in pain. "Sonofabitch."

Joey did her best to straighten her clothes. "I'm sorry. They wanted to throw you a celebratory dinner. I forgot."

"Fuck." He looked back at the door, which he'd only just stopped leaning against, to see it opening. He quickly grabbed the box of office stuff and held it strategically in front him him. "I'm gonna take this upstairs. Tell them I'll be down in a few minutes. I need a very cold shower."

She nodded just as the menagerie of friends burst through the door.


	4. Chapter 4

PART 4

If Pacey thought burying his physical desire for Joey the last few weeks was torture, he didn't know what torture was. Because this was far, far worse. Now that he'd given in and allowed himself to have a taste of her, he wanted it all. The only problem were the seven people who wouldn't vacate the premises. Jen, Jack, Audrey, C.J and David brought dinner and a surprise: Andie. While Pacey was happy to see Andie, who was home from Italy permanently as she geared up to start Harvard in fall, he cursed her timing. Everyone wanted stories of her travels, Joey included, and she wanted to hear what everyone was doing now. And then, about halfway through dinner, an occasion in which Pacey forced himself to sit as far away from Joey as possible to lessen the temptation to ravage her right there, Dawson showed up. He should have known the guy wouldn't be able to take no for an answer. Dawson was currently sitting next to Joey, more than happy to reminisce about times Pacey would be more than happy to forget. Since Audrey, C.J. and David were newbies to the Capeside Six, they lapped it all up.

When he couldn't take it anymore, Pacey excused himself to get a beer. He'd need it to get through the rest of this dinner. When he popped his head back out of the fridge, he felt her behind him. Right behind him. "Potter. Distance," he pleaded.

She shifted to squeeze between his side and the open fridge, which left their bodies touching from shoulder to foot. She smirked. "Naw, this is better."

"Would you like a drink?" he offered in an attempt to mask his discomfort at her closeness.

"Yeah, but I'll get it." Just then, she bent down and pulled a soda off the bottom shelf, which coincidentally pressed her behind into his groin.

He sat his beer down on the counter and then used his hand to pull her tight against him. He then leaned down under the pretext of helping her, which is how it would appear to anyone in the living room, and murmured. "You're gonna pay for this."

She turned her head slightly to whisper in his ear. "I'll hold you to that, Pace."

When she pushed against him to stand upright again, soda in hand, it brought their bodies in full contact and he involuntarily shuddered. "I hate you," he ground out through clenched teeth.

She simply stepped away and turned to face him. "No, you don't," she said as she cupped him with her free hand and winked before walking away.

After that, Pacey spent nearly an hour in the kitchen baking an impromptu dessert of chocolate cake just to get his hard-on go away. Thanks to the open floor plan, however, he could still socialize with his friends using the island as a barrier and a cover. Of course that only delayed their leaving that much longer because now they wanted to hang around to actually eat the cake.

 **~zzzzzzz~**

After her stunt at the fridge, Pacey barricaded himself in the kitchen under the pretext of baking. She used that as an excuse to move away from Dawson's side and sit at the island. Andie and Jen followed her. Jack, of course, became Pacey's helper, having missed his cooking, and the others stood around chatting behind the three of them. As Dawson hovered by her, Joey took every spare moment she could to eye flirt with Pacey. She ventured to guess he wasn't having much luck ridding himself of his erection anymore than she was calming herself down. Now that she was so close to getting what she'd been waiting for over the last few weeks, this delay was a special form of torture.

Once everyone had cake and coffee, they still lingered. Jack, of course, wasn't going anywhere because it was his place too. Neither was David. Andie was staying in Emma's old room for the weekend. Jen and C.J. lingered because of Jack. Audrey wasn't about to leave the party and be left out and Dawson wasn't going to budge unless he was physically kicked or dragged out now that Pacey's big mouth had given him false hope.

By 11:00 pm it dawned on her that she and Pacey could just go upstairs whenever they wanted. Everyone with the exception of Andie knew they were trying again, so what did it matter? And Andie probably knew anyway because of Jack. Tomorrow was Friday. She didn't have any classes tomorrow and Pacey didn't have to work. So they would have all night. All fucking night.

In that moment, Joey stood up. She carried her cake plate and empty mug to the kitchen. When she returned, she stopped by Pacey, who was conversing with C.J. about sports. She reached down and grabbed his hand to pull him to his feet, causing him to look at her quizzically and the rest of the group to go silent.

She pulled Pacey with her toward the steps as she announced to the group. "Thanks for coming to celebrate Pacey's freedom, but it's been a really long day. We're gonna head to bed. Feel free to stay as long as you like. Just don't break the TV."

Everyone who'd been at the previous party chuckled at that. And everyone who wasn't looked to Jack to explain.

As the group was enraptured by Jack's story of Betha's destruction, Joey caught Jen's wink as she pulled Pacey up the steps behind her.

 **~zzzzzzz~**

The second Joey pulled Pacey into the bedroom with her, he slammed the door shut and she pushed him against it. "Where were we?" she panted.

"About here," he said just before crushing his lips down onto hers. They stood there devouring each other until Pacey took control and shifted them so that she was plastered between the door and his body. As he peppered her neck with kisses, Joey snaked her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. She pulled him into her and ground against him, "I need you now."

He reciprocated the action with his hips as his hands blazed a trail of fire under her shirt to graze the underside of her breasts. The jolt of desire caused her to throw her head back and she banged it against the back of the door. "Ow!"

Pacey stopped what he was doing and let her down slowly. Once her feet were on the ground, he looked concernedly in her eyes, where she was holding back tears. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it just surprised me. I'll be fine."

"Maybe we should slow this down a bit." When she was going to protest, he added, "We have all the time in the world."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Joey asked hopefully.

When he smiled and nodded, she forgot all about her injured head and jumped happily into his arms, which unfortunately caused him to lose his balance and step backward into the dresser behind him, making a loud bang.

 **~zzzzzzz~**

Downstairs the group was sitting in the living room chatting when they heard a loud bang above them.

"What was that?" Dawson asked.

At that, Jen gave him the side eye, Jack rolled his eyes, and Andie smirked.

Audrey, never shy, simply said, "That was Pacey's dresser." Then she sighed. "Some of our best sex was on that dresser. It's just the perfect height for…"

When Dawson went slack-jawed, Audrey asked, "What?" Then she looked at him curiously. "Oh, you thought they were actually going up there to sleep, didn't you?"

"Um, yeah." Dawson commented.

"Bunny has been eyeing him like he's the last bottle of water in the Sahara all night. No way would she have practically dislocated his arm dragging him upstairs just to sleep."

"And he was eyeing her the same way." Andie chimed in. "That look used to melt me like," she snapped her fingers, "that".

At Andie's admission, it was Jack who gasped.

"What?" she asked.

"I don't need to hear that, Andie."

"It's not like it was a secret."

He shuddered. "Just knowing the two of you did it once upon a time is already too much information. I don't need details."

At this Audrey piped up. Looking at Andie, she asked. "The tongue thing. Was that new? I tried asking Bunny, but she refused to talk about their sex life with me."

Andie blushed. "No. That was a skill he acquired with Ms. Jacobs."

As Jen interjected with "What tongue thing? We never got that far." Jack hung his head in his hands in defeat, Dawson looked like he was about to puke, and C.J. and David observed with smirks on their faces.

Just as Audrey was about to explain the tongue thing to Jen, there was another crash above them.

"What do you all say we call it a night?" C.J. asked hopefully.

When Joey screamed, David suggested heading to Hell's Kitchen for a nightcap and a game of pool.

Everyone readily agreed. Dawson was the first one out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

PART 5

Despite his late night with Joey, Pacey woke up really early. Even though he didn't have to go to work, his biological clock didn't register the change, so, instead of trying to fall back to sleep, he decided to get up and cook breakfast while watching the financial news. Joey was dead to the world and while he was always up for some morning nookie, he couldn't bear to wake her up.

After slipping out of bed and kissing her on the forehead, he tiptoed downstairs, as he didn't want to wake everybody else. Once downstairs, he turned Bertha on to the financial news on mute and then made his way over to the kitchen. He hadn't had much time to cook over the last few months because of his crazy hours and he didn't realize how much he missed it until he baked that cake last night. After pulling out the ingredients for French toast, Pacey brewed a pot of coffee as he began prepping.

He couldn't help but smile. Last night with Joey hadn't gone exactly as planned. After hitting her head on the door, he bumped into the dresser. Then, when he walked over to the bed to put her down on it and follow her onto it, his bed frame collapsed thanks to a loose screw he'd forgotten to tighten. As Joey went to his closet to pull out his small toolbox so he could fix it (because a bed was a big part of both their plans), some jeans he had haphazardly thrown on the top shelf fell on her, which resulted in a scream of surprise. After that, they heard the door downstairs bang shut and both laughed so hard they cried at the assumptions their friends must have made.

After they regained their composure and Pacey finished fixing the bed, they ended up changing into pajamas, decided to let things progress naturally between them physically when the time was right, and then read to each other from their book until they both fell asleep. It wasn't the night either of them had pictured or anticipated when they went upstairs, but it was perfect. It reminded him of their nights on True Love. He sighed. God, he still missed that boat.

As Pacey finished up the first batch of French toast, he heard excited footsteps on the staircase.

"Is that French toast I smell?!" Jack asked as he rushed toward the kitchen island.

Pacey smiled. "Yeah, man. Your favorite."

Jack bypassed the island and pulled him into a brotherly bear hug. "Glad to have you back, bro. I've been so hungry without you."

As Pacey laughed, Jack heaped a stack of French toast onto one of the plates Pacey had gotten out earlier.

Jack's excitement must have woken up Andie, who padded sleepily from her borrowed room. "What's all the commotion, Jack? Some of us are trying to sleep here."

Jack didn't even look up from his food. "Pacey cooked."

"So?"

Jack looked up and eyed his sister in a way only brothers can. "Do you know what a momentous occasion this is?! Do not spoil it for me, sis."

Andie looked at Pacey with question in her eyes and he simply shrugged. "What can I say? Jackers missed my food. Coffee McPhee?"

"Yeah, thanks," she said with a smile.

After he poured her a coffee, she sat down and grabbed herself a slice of toast. Pacey couldn't help but chuckle as a moan escaped her lips after she bit down on her first bite. "Holy shit, Pace, this is amazing."

"Told ya," was Jack's smug reply.

Andie rolled her eyes at him and then went back to eating.

David and Joey soon followed, each preparing a plate for themselves. After greeting Joey with a quick but tender kiss, Pacey asked if anyone wanted him to make more.

Before they could answer, they heard keys in the door and Jen popped her head in. When she noticed everyone eating French toast, she frowned and marched over to Jack and bopped him on the head. "Pacey cooks for the first time in months and you didn't call me?"

He looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. Between bites, he said, "I was too busy eating."

Jen rolled her eyes and then made her way over to Pacey. She hugged him tightly and then said, "It's good to have you back, Pace."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Lindley. Do you want your special batch?"

She batted her eyelashes as the group looked on. "Yes, please." Then she looked at Jack and stuck her tongue out.

"What is this about special French toast? And why does _she_ get some?" Jack asked petulantly.

As Pacey began preparing Jen's specially seasoned batch, Pacey answered, "Because Jen's the one who helped me come up with my secret recipe last year."

Once he was done cooking, Pacey made a plate of Jen's batch for himself and then stood leaning on the island next to Joey as he ate. And the group conversed merrily about nothing and everything. It was heaven.

 **~zzzzzzz~**

As Joey watched Pacey interact with their friends, she could tell he was back. His mood was lighter and he smiled more. She knew he was at peace with his decision to leave the brokerage firm and she was happy for him. Although she wished he would have stayed in bed with her this morning, she couldn't help but appreciate the French toast and jovial mood of the house.

Pacey stood next to her as he leaned on the island and ate his own breakfast. As he chatted amiably with the group, Joey placed a hand on the small of his back just because she couldn't be so close to him and not touch him after last night. While their night didn't go according to plan, he'd agreed to another chance and to stop keeping his distance from her physically. She could touch him and kiss him all she wanted, finally. They had decided to wait until it felt right to sleep together by letting nature take its course. While she wasn't ecstatic about that, Joey knew that when it finally happened between them again, it would be amazing. She could wait. Not forever, but for now.

Just as Jen was filling them in on Gram's recent cancer scare, which thankfully turned out to be a false alarm, there was a loud banging on the door. "PACEY! I know you're there. Open the damn door now!"

That was Dawson's voice. What was he doing here? And why was he sounding so pissed?

Pacey shared confused glances with everyone and went over to the door. After he opened it, Dawson stormed in. "How could you let this happen to me?"

"I'm sorry, D-man, you lost me. What are you talking about?"

Dawson looked around the room at all of them and then turned back to Pacey. "I guess you were too busy socializing this morning to pay attention to the top story on the financial news?" Just then, Dawson pointed to Bertha's screen where a news anchor was talking as the Stepotech logo hovered in the upper right corner of the shot.

When Pacey noticed the logo, he walked over to the TV and turned up the volume in time to hear the anchor say, " _As we've been discussing all morning, the FDA surprised Stepotech and its investors today by issuing an early ruling denying approval for its next generation flu vaccine claiming concerns around severe side effects. As a result, the stock has plummeted…"_

Pacey, who'd been wound tight as he watched the story, let out a deep breath. He turned back to Dawson. "I'm really sorry about your money, man."

"You should be," Dawson spat.

Pacey reeled back. "Excuse me?"

"This is your fault."

"How exactly is this my fault?"

"My money never would have been there if not for you."

"Whoa, Dawson. You came to me to invest your money and I tried to talk you out of it. When I couldn't, you and I agreed _together_ to invest in Stepotech, and yesterday you chose not to pull out of it when I asked you what you wanted to do."

Dawson sputtered at that, but recovered. "You pull your money out and quit the firm the day before Stepotech tanks and I'm supposed to believe it's some coincidence? You knew something was fishy and chose not to tell me when I asked yesterday. That makes it your fault."

Pacey crossed his arms and eyes Dawson. "You're kidding with this. You aren't broke because of me, D. You're broke because you were too busy fishing for information about me and Joey to make a real decision about your money. My reasons for quitting have nothing to do with you losing your money."

When Dawson didn't say anything, Pacey continued. "I'm sorry you lost most of your investment, Dawson, but that's the risk you take in the stock market. You can't blame me."

"I never would have invested in the first place if you hadn't brought it up ."

"Well, I didn't think you even listened when I suggested it. It's not like you have listened to much of anything I've said over the last three years anyway."

Joey and the others watched in rapt fascination as the two went silent and stared each other down.

"It always comes back to that, doesn't it?" Dawson asked.

"The fact that we're both in love with the same woman will always come between us. No matter what I say or do to try and make up my actions from junior year to you, it won't matter in the end because you don't trust me anymore."

Dawson looked down and sighed. "No, I don't."

"Well, then that's that," Pacey said resignedly. "I'm done, Dawson."

"What?"

"I'm over it. I have my own life now, one that hasn't really included you for a long time. I'm sorry you lost your money, but it is neither my fault nor my problem. I'm willing to co-exist with you for the sake of the group, but that's it. Things will never be the same between us and I've decided to accept that and move on."

With that, Dawson nodded in agreement and walked out the door, not even saying goodbye to the group.

"You can't let him leave it like this."

"Jo," Pacey said warningly. "Just let it go."

"You can't throw away everything over me. I'm not worth it."

"Don't you see, Jo? It's already gone. Our friendship was gone the second he found out about us three years ago. He and I have finally acknowledged that. Now you need to. It's not your place to fix it."

"So, what, once again I'm in the middle? I have to choose between you?"

"No. I'd never make you choose. I can't speak for Dawson, though." Pacey took a breath and continued, "But, just to be clear, I refuse to go through this again. I won't play second-fiddle to Dawson and his feelings this time. If this is going to work between us, you need to make our relationship your priority. Can you do that?"

 _A/N: Cliffhanger Friday. What will happen? Will Joey chase Dawson or will she stand by Pacey and put him first like she always should have done? Find out next..._


	6. Chapter 6

EPILOGUE

Five years later….

Joey Potter was in love with her best friend. As she watched Pacey converse with Jack and Jen at Gail's wedding, she marveled at the amazing man he'd become. After quitting the brokerage, he spent some time in Boston working at a private equity job he got thanks to one of his former clients. After saving enough money, he moved back to Capeside and re-opened The Icehouse, which he owned free and clear. In addition, he owned a condo near the beach and a new boat, which was docked at the marina. Whenever everyone was in town, which was surprisingly often now that Jack was teaching at the high school and Grams had bought her house back, they all went sailing together.

"Hey," Joey said as she walked over to him.

He smiled. "Hey."

She cleared her throat. "So, I've been meaning to ask you something all afternoon… Would you like to dance with me?"

He nodded and reached for her hand. "Yes, I believe I would."

They took their place on the floor. As _Have a Little Faith in Me_ played, they swayed to the music. "So what's going on, Pace?"

"Hmm… What's going on? What's going on is that I forgot how much fun I have when I'm with you. That's what."

Joey chuckled "Me too."

As Pacey's hand brushed the wedding band on her finger he asked, "So, how's married life?"

She shrugged. "It's good. He works a lot. Almost as much as me, so we don't see each other like we should. But, I guess that's part of it, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose. After a while, it becomes more about quality than quantity, especially with a toddler who demands constant attention."

"Gee, I wonder who she takes after there?" Joey joked.

"Me?" When she nodded, he pulled back. "No, she is her momma's daughter through and through. Which can be exhausting for me, to say the least."

Before Joey could respond, Jen and Dawson sidled up next to them. Brightly, Jen asked to switch because Dawson wouldn't let her lead. Despite not wanting to cut their dance short, Joey went along with it. It felt amazing to be alone with Pacey in his arms, even for a short time.

Her dance with Dawson was slightly strained. He'd never gotten over the fact that she'd married someone who wasn't him. While she'd always love him and be connected to him, she wasn't in love with him. They'd never gotten back together after their disastrous one night stand. Joey was relieved when Jen asked to switch back.

Joey had only just barely gotten settled in Pacey's arms again when she heard Dawson shout Jen's name and saw her collapsed on the dance floor.

Soon thereafter, she, Pacey, Dawson, Jack and Grams waited impatiently in the waiting room for news from the doctor. As they waited, Doug showed up to pay his respects to Jen, but she and everyone else knew it was really to support Jack, with whom he'd been in a secret relationship with for six months.

"Jennifer Lindley family," a doctor called lit.

They all stood anxiously. "Yes?" was the collective question.

"She is awake and stable. She has asked to see you all. While I've advised against so many visitors at once, she insisted. She wants to tell you what caused the collapse herself."

After the doctor left, Doug took a seat in the room while the rest of them went to see Jen. Grams took a seat in the chair while Pacey perched on one side of her bed and Jack on the other. Joey and Dawson stood by the foot.

"So, what the hell is going on, Jen," Jack demanded. "The doctor wouldn't tell us."

"Calm down, Jackers. I'm fine. The collapse wasn't caused by my bum ticker."

"So the surgery is still successful?" Grams asked.

"Yes," Jen replied. "My fainting had nothing to do with my heart condition."

"Then please enlighten us, Lindley." Pacey commanded.

Joey was surprised to see Jen blush. She looked down at the hand that Pacey was gripping for dear life and then looked back up. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" Pacey asked just as Jack uttered a, "Seriously?!"

"I fainted because I was dehydrated from the heat of being out in the sun. When they ran blood tests, they found out I'm pregnant."

"Oh my God! This is amazing!" Jack exclaimed.

Jen looked at Pacey expectantly. "Is it?"

In response, Pacey leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. "Yes, it is." Then, he reached out and placed a hand on her stomach as he whispered something private in her ear that made her blush again and then smack him playfully on his arm with her free hand, which was adorned with a wedding band that matched the one he was wearing.

Joey pasted a smile on her face, offered her congratulations, and then slipped quietly out of the room. She ran into a nearby restroom and let the tears fall. This bizarre form of torture was her comeuppance for being unable to put Pacey and their relationship first five years ago thanks to her obsession with protecting Dawson and his feelings even after everything that had happened.

After their gut-wrenching breakup, Joey traveled to Paris to clear her head, came back and finished her degree at Worthington while she worked on rebuilding a friendship with Pacey, and then moved to New York for graduate school, where she ended up staying. It took a while, but she and Pacey were able to evolve once again from awkward exes to best friends, though the distance made it easier (for her at least) to accept losing him as more than that. While working as an editor, she began dating Christopher, one of her authors. She married him three months ago. She told herself it had nothing to do with the fact that Pacey had eloped with Jen three months before that.

Jen had moved back to Capeside to live with Grams after her loser boyfriend Errol knocked her up and left her. Pacey supported her throughout the pregnancy and after Amy was born, he stepped up to be a father figure to the little girl. He and Jen shocked everyone when they eloped six months ago. Apparently, they'd fallen in love as they worked together to parent Amy. Although Jen kept her last name for professional reasons, once Pacey's adoption of Amy went through, the little girl would be a Witter. Just like their new baby.

So, now Joey was married to a man back in New York she only loved with part of her heart while Pacey was building a family with one of her best friends.

There were times, like when he was holding her in his arms earlier, that Joey swore he still loved her as much as she loved him. But, when she witnessed moments like when he whispered in Jen's ear, Joey was forced to face the reality that he'd moved on and she'd been replaced in his heart by the last person she ever expected.

And it hurt like hell.

 _A\N: I love PJo happy endings as much as the next girl, but this story called to me to write a "What if?" scenario where Joey realizes she wants Pacey but can't let go of her unhealthy attachment to Dawson. But, unlike in high school, Pacey refuses to come in second and stands up for himself and demand what he deserves. I put Pacey with Jen because I thought they were cute during their sex pact and they never really had a chance to explore that because it was used only as a means to an end. (Personally, I'd much rather have had a Jen/Pacey/Joey triangle than a Joey/Dawson/Jen triangle, but it was Dawson's show, so...) To me, it made sense for their friendship to evolve into more as Pacey bonded with and tried to be the dad to Amy that he never had._


	7. Chapter 7

ALTERNATE ENDING

 _A/N: You didn't think I'd leave you brokenhearted, did you? I couldn't resist the happy ending for PJo, too… Enjoy!_

Five years later….

Joey Potter was in love with her best friend. As she watched Pacey converse with Jack and Jen at Gail's wedding, she marveled at the amazing man he'd become. After quitting the brokerage, he spent some time in Boston working at a private equity job he got thanks to one of his former clients. After saving enough money, he moved back to Capeside and re-opened The Icehouse, which he owned free and clear. In addition, he owned a condo near the beach and a new boat, which was docked at the marina. Whenever everyone was in town, which was surprisingly often now that Jack was teaching at the high school and Grams had bought her house back, they all went sailing together.

"Hey," Joey said as she walked over to him.

He smiled. "Hey."

She cleared her throat. "So, I've been meaning to ask you something all afternoon… Would you like to dance with me?"

He nodded and reached for her hand. "Yes, I believe I would."

They took their place on the floor. As _Have a Little Faith in Me_ played, they swayed to the music. "So what's going on, Pace?"

"Hmm… What's going on? What's going on is that I forgot how much fun I have when I'm with you. That's what."

Joey chucked. "Me too."

As Pacey's hand brushed the wedding band on her finger he asked, "So, how's married life?"

She shrugged. "It's good. He works a lot. Almost as much as me, so we don't see each other like we should. But, I guess that's part of it, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose. After a while, it becomes more about quality than quantity, especially with a toddler who demands constant attention."

"Gee, I wonder who she takes after there," Joey joked.

"Me?" When she nodded, he pulled back. "No, she is her momma's daughter through and through. Which can be exhausting for me, to say the least."

Before Joey could respond, Jen and Dawson sidled up next to them. Brightly, Jen asked to switch because Dawson won't let her lead. Despite not wanting to cut their dance short, Joey went along with it. It felt amazing to be alone with Pacey in his arms, even for a short time.

Her dance with Dawson was slightly strained. He'd never gotten over the fact that she'd married someone who wasn't him. While she'd always love him and be connected to him, she wasn't in love with him. They'd never gotten back together after their disasterous one night stand. Joey was relieved when Jen asked to switch back.

Joey had only just barely gotten settled in Pacey's arms again when she heard Dawson shout Jen's name and saw her collapsed on the dance floor.

Soon thereafter, she, Pacey, Dawson, Jack and Grams waited impatiently in the waiting room for news from the doctor. As they waited, Doug showed up to pay his respects to Jen, but she and everyone else knew it was really to support Jack, with whom he'd been in a secret relationship with for six months.

"Jennifer Lindley family," a doctor called out.

They all stood anxiously. "Yes?" was the collective question.

"She is awake and stable. She has asked to see you all. While I've advised against so many visitors at once, she insisted. She wants to tell you what caused the collapse herself."

After the doctor left, Doug took a seat in the room while the rest of them went to see Jen. Grams took a seat in the chair while Pacey perched on one side of her bed and Jack on the other. Joey and Dawson stood by the foot.

"So, what the hell is going on, Jen," Jack demanded. "The doctor wouldn't tell us."

"Calm down, Jackers. I'm fine. The collapse wasn't caused by my bum ticker."

"So the surgery is still successful?" Grams asked.

"Yes," Jen replied. "My fainting had nothing to do with my heart condition."

"Then please enlighten us, Lindley." Pacey directed.

"I was just dehydrated from the heat. They're keeping me overnight to give me fluids and I'll be released in the morning."

At that, both Pacey and Jack hugged her tightly. They then got up so Joey and Dawson could hug her, too. After wishing her a speedy recovery, Joey quietly pulled Pacey to the corner by the door.

"Thank God it wasn't her heart again," Joey whispered with relief.

"I know," Pacey agreed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I couldn't imagine losing her after the scare we had when Amy was born."

Joey pulled Pacey into a hug. He'd become especially close with Jen and her daughter after she moved home to Capeside after getting knocked up and left by her loser boyfriend Errol. He and Jack stepped up to be surrogate fathers for the little girl while Joey had become even closer to Jen, so close in fact that they had opened a coffee shop and bookstore together. Jen ran the coffee shop while Joey managed the bookstore.

After their hug, he told the group they needed to get going to pick up Meg from Bessie's. After saying their goodbyes, they walked hand-in-hand to their SUV.

Pacey opened the door for her, but she paused before getting in. "Witter?"

"Yeah?"

"Despite all the excitement, it was nice spending time alone with you today. I've missed that."

In response Pacey leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "Me too, Potter. Me too." Then he stepped back and smacked her on the butt. "Now get in so we can pick up your exhausting little mini-me from Bessie's."

Joey rolled her eyes and then got in and waited until Pacey was inside. Then she leaned over the console and pressed her breasts against his arm as she laid a hand on his upper thigh. "Did I forgot to tell you that Meg is sleeping over at Bessie's tonight?"

Pacey didn't say anything. He just reached over and placed his hand at the nape of her neck to pull her into a scorching kiss. When they finally came up for air, Pacey nuzzled her neck and then whispered, "Then we'd better get you home and out of these clothes as soon as possible."

Joey simply moved her hand up farther and smiled wickedly, excited to have a night alone with her husband for the first time in ages.

She was so glad she was in love with her best friend and that he loved her back. After his fallout with Dawson five years ago, she had put Pacey and their relationship first and she never once regretted it or the life they'd built together since.


End file.
